MTB series (1): The Top Ten of the Most Important Mountain Bike Regions

The Best Bike Parks in Austria, Germany and Switzerland

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The bike parks in the Alpine region promise good moods for mountain bikers with their impressive flow trails, downhill routes, extensive elevation changes, as well as big mountain lines and drops, obstacles, berms, and North Shore trails. Here are the top ten bike parks in the Austrian, German and Swiss Alps.

Bike fans get their money's worth in the Alps.

Image credit: Christoph Bayer

The bike parks in the Alpine region promise good moods for mountain bikers with their impressive flow trails, downhill routes, extensive elevation changes, as well as big mountain lines and drops, obstacles, berms, and North Shore trails. Here are the top ten bike parks in the Austrian, German, and Swiss Alps.

1. MTB fun for everyone: Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis

The Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis bike park is located in the middle of the Tyrol Alps. The range of trails is extremely diverse, making it perfect even for beginners who have never been to a bike park.

Because the individual trails are relatively short, they are especially suited for practicing cornering and attempting first drops and North Shore trails. Roots, rocky sections, drops, additional jumps, and steeper berms also promise pure freeriding joy for intermediate riders.

2. Downhill and freeride action: Wagrain

The mountain bike downhill park at the Flying Mozart cable car in Austria is great fun for riders of all skill levels. Beginners can optimize their skills on the easy flow trails, tackle their first root sections, and gain confidence on fast tracks. For advanced riders, there are various obstacles and complex descents with roots, steps, and other challenges.

3. Switzerland: Lenzerheide

The Lenzerheide bike park in Switzerland is a varied playground for everyone from beginners to professionals Even though there are only “five” trails, you can have fun all day long in this park. Be careful: At the end of the season, braking bumps can dampen the fun, and the trails are partially closed from mid-September for the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships. But in exchange, there’s lots of trails in the surround area – both with and without lifts.

4. Playground for mountain bikers: Innsbruck

Opened in 2018, the Flow-Trail by Shaper "Tom Pro" is great fun for beginners and experts. Why? Wide curves and lots of simple, little jumps will bring a smile to your face. “The First One” and “The Chainless One” trails can be combined with one another. By contrast, “The Rough One” is wilder and thus more challenging, ideal for downhill MTB fans.

Opening hours: Muttereralm: June 25th – October 27th 2019 (check for updates on their website)

Lift pass: €36

Lift: Gondola

Additional details: Bike school & bike center

Bikepark Innsbruck

Image credit: Bikepark Innsbruck

5. Upper Bavarian MTB fun: Samerberg

With just one trail, the bike park at Samerberg is one of the smallest in the Alpine region, but there’s no need for it to hide behind its big brothers. The trail still offers several variations and is filled with jumps, obstacles, and North Shore trails that encourage riders to practice their skills. Some might find the lift annoying because there is only one single chairlift, which can lead to long line ups when the park is busy. If you’re fit enough, you can ride up to the start of the trail.

6. The El Dorado for mountain bikers: Saalbach Hinterglemm

The Saalbach Hinterglemm bike circus offers five trails for different difficulty levels: Milka Line, Blue Line, Proline, X-Line, and Z-Line. While beginners can gain initial freeride experience on the Milka Line, experienced downhill riders can let off steam on the Pro-Line with the integrated Evil Eye Trail.

Tip: Don’t miss the neighboring Hacklbergtrail. You’ll have to ride up 100 meters on your own steam, but it’s well worth the effort because the trail offers unfathomably beautiful sections, fantastic landscapes, and is very diverse. And if you still haven’t had enough, take your MTB to the neighboring park in Leogang with its World Cup trail.

7. Flow trails and pure action: Bikerepublic Sölden

The ultimate bike park for anyone who loves flow trails, action, and perfectly shaped trails. It’s no wonder that Sölden is often called “Little Canada”, after all, well-known trail builders (Hans NoWay Rey, Didi Schneider, Glen Jacobs, Chris Bernhard, Chris Kehmeier) have put a lot of effort into this park.

The emphasis is on flow trails since the winding routes with wonderfully designed North Shore elements make it hard to stop... Plus, depending on the difficulty level, artificial obstacles like jumps are sometimes part of the trails.

8. Obstacle playground: Brandnertal

Downhill riding in Brandnertal – from easy, freeride flow trails to challenging downhill trails! Four freeride and downhill trails for a total of eight kilometers with numerous berms, jumps, wooden elements for bikers of all skill levels.

9. Family park: Focus Bikepark Oberammergau

Located near Garmisch Patenkirchen, this small bike park was opened in 2017 in close cooperation with Focus and Ziener in Oberammergau and is suitable for families as well as experts. The routes were built with care and promise lots of fun with both flow trails and natural trails. The only drawback: The trails remain wet for long time after it rains. The drag lift also takes some getting used to, and with a bike, it’s a bit of a challenge for many people at first. But it’s no problem at all once you get used to it.

10. The first bike park in the world: Geisskopf

The bike park on the Geisskopf in the Bavarian Forest really is one of the first of its kind, so it’s worth checking out the various routes for that reason alone. Without a doubt, the trails are diverse and suitable for families as well as professionals and newbies. Whether you love drops, are looking for flow trails, or rustic natural trails with roots and stones, the 13 trails have something for everyone.